Top Of The Roof: Artist Spotlight: Childish Gambino

Friday, April 22, 2011

Artist Spotlight: Childish Gambino

By now most of you know of Childish Gambino, a.k.a. Donald Glover. If you don’t, now is good time to get familiar. His recent, Freaks & Geeks EP, is earning him some major attention and even landed the title track in an Adidas commercial. I knew him as Troy Barnes long before I knew of him as Childish Gambino, but being a fan of Glover’s character on Community didn’t affect my opinion of his music. Had his music been terrible, I would have gladly written him off as an “actor turned rapper” and never listened to him again. That wasn’t the case. From the first track off of Freaks and Geeks, “Be Alone”, all expectations of a CG simply being a “gimmick” were shattered. I can’t lie, I was late on Childish Gambino especially considering I didn’t even know he rapped until the end of March. Come to find out, Glover has not only been rapping but even producing (under the moniker mcDJ) for several years. This post is dedicated to spotlighting his from I Am Just A Rapper to his recent Freaks & Geeks EP. CG released 2 mixtapes, titled Sick Boi & Poindexter, prior to I Am Just A Rapper however, Glover dismissed them claiming he had to “hide behind gimmicks” resulting in a less authentic listening experience. It’s important to note that CG and Ludwig Göransson (Composer for Community) have collaborated to produce many of Childish Gambino’s tracks. After listening to these 4 CG releases, I think it’s safe to say Glover is at his best when his lyrics are focused on his internal struggle and duality of character, as well as his sense of mortality. When he’s not airing out his dirty laundry, the resulting product is some of the best “guilty pleasure” braggadocio you can find.

Freeks & Geeks EP

Download: Mediafire